The Agarbatti Experiment
by Fahsky
Summary: A Ranger dies while in battle... A Force's death may involve foul play... One soul & one body become something more.
1. Fahlina's Quest

Author's Note...  
  
Ah, fahsky here again! And yes, I've started another Phantasy Star Online fic! Yay! This will be my second story unload to fanfiction.net. Once again, this will star a character of mine - well, actually two, but really one in a weird way! And no - it's not the evil twin premise. lol It's kinda about a ghost, but not really... it's hard to explain! ^-^"" I guess you'll just have to read & find out! ^.~Y Hope you enjoy this, as always, & review it if you feel it's worthy. Slight warning on this, for language & maybe the level of violence towards a cute, (almost) helpless elf-like Force later on. :( Notes appear like this: (x) - go to the end of the chapter to see the note.  
  
Disclaimer...  
  
Sega & other companies own Phantasy Star, & all related items. My characters belong to me. Story concept belongs to me. Please do not post this elsewhere without my permisson. I am making no money from this.  
  
Chapter 1: Fahlina's Quest   
  
"Yeah yeah, whatever! I'll do it how I feel like it, when I feel like it asshole!" The tiny Force girl slammed the office door making the window rattle, then stomped down the corridor. Her boss, the administrator (1) of the local Hunter's Guild was screaming that she wouldn't get a damn meseta (2) if she hurt another civilian in her quest, but she ignored him. Quite a few other office workers and a few hunters stared at the brassy girl, but no one said a word - Forces could be quite dangerous, especially in a closed space with so much paper & flesh where a magic fire would go wild off all the fuel & energy available. The young looking hunter marched heatedly to the glass automatic doors, waited impatiently for them to identify her ID badge, then stomped out. Everyone in the guild gave a collective sigh of relief, then went back to work - It was hard not to feel nervous with that firebrand around.  
  
The young Force looked around her at the busiest hub (or city, "hubs" was the word invented for them on Ragol, as they were basically dozens upon dozens of stores) of all the planet. It contained over a half million people, probably close to 750 thousand by now she thought. She couldn't even guess how many androids & Newmen there could be - if they were included in with the human residents, well over 1.5 million. She loved it here, because of the anonymity it gave her - she was just another Force for hire. (3)  
  
Fahlina was a 21 year old Fohu, or a Force human. She was one of the few magic-using Hunters in the world that were not Newmen, or artificial DNA engineered humans created by the government. Her mother had been a Newman however, & since Newmen chromosomes were unusually dominant, she had been born with natural magic abilities. Her father, William Baily (4), had just been an average government office worker, and had meet her mother when she came in for her annual check-up. Both had told young Fahlina that it was love at first sight, which always elicited a dreamy sigh from the girl. They married only three months after meeting. William was looked down on for marrying a Newman, but was soon accepted because of the frequency of human-Newman marriages.   
  
Her mother, Nahlintia, was very humane, & didn't seem like a Newman Force, except for her small stature, pointed ears, & her magic powers. She was a unusually strong Force, almost like a female Ranger. The laboratory CynTech had experimented slightly with their Force models, & had made about 150 Newmen with Nahlintia's DNA structure. She could wield several blade-type photon weapons, but especially the throwing blade - the slicer. Her techniques were all good, although her specialty was fire-based spells. Her support spells were also above pare. (5)   
  
Fahlina was born just like a normal human child would be, but soon was discovered to possess the genes of a Newmen. Her chromosomes were slightly altered in that she would most likely have a greatly longer life span than her mother. Sadly, this proved true, as her mother died seven years her daughter's birth at the age of 12 years. The cause of death, like all Newmen, was quite unknown. The death certificate however, said "natural causes" because she was a Newman. Her father lived another two years, then also passed away, perhaps from grief. Fahlina went to live with her father's sister and her husband, and was very happy there. She was treated like their own child and felt very loved, but the loss of both her parents deeply affected her. She struck out at people, often got into fights with older children, and even shoplifted.  
  
Gradually, Fahlina became more focused and less destructive, and decided at the age of 16 to pursue a career as a full-time hunter. Her magic abilities were wasted in any other profession. So, after training for a year to hone her skills, she applied for a Force class license. She received her Hunter's License on July 16, 3036. Ever since, she had worn the Greenil badge proudly.   
  
She wasn't the best Force for hire, but she worked for cheap, and it got her by okay, with a few luxuries. She did a few quests (jobs) a week for mostly private individuals, groups or businesses and once in a while, a really well-paying quest for the government.   
  
Now Fahlina was on her way to meet a client at a small eatery/ bakery. It sounded easy enough - a inexperienced hunter had stupidly went into the old ruins, she was guessing to level up quickly, & had been knocked unconscious almost immediately. He wanted her to go in and recover his extremely expensive Twin Brand, which had been given to him by his grandfather as congratulations for passing his hunter's exams.  
  
The Force smirked - the hunter's exams were a joke. The government liked to pretend that only real muscle heads could pass them, but in reality, a one-legged crippled man could easily pass with average results. She found it hilarious - often convicts would train like mad while in prison to pass the physical requirements. Once they were released, they would take them and fail miserably. And the funniest part was that they would beef themselves up even more and try again! The truth was, as long as you seemed semi-sane and able to run for about 30 minutes straight without becoming winded, you could be a hunter. (6)  
  
The female hunter walked along at a brisk pace, mentally going over her checklist of supplies she needed to go in and get back his weapon. It would be a short journey, most likely, as the Ruins were a hellish place for any hunter, especially a unskilled one. She was pretty sure her Club was in top condition, along with all her armor. You couldn't really see it, as her outfit was stereotypically cute and yet slightly scandalous in that it revealed a lot of her childish body. The reason for this was one - her small body had to have lots of outlets for the heat she produced with certain techniques (the technical name for spells), otherwise she may implode and two - it was stereotypical of her class to wear such things; it was hard to find anything else. She didn't care one way or another about her outfit. As long as it stayed relatively clean, she was happy. She owned about four different hunter outfits, and none cost less than 85 thousand mesata. Her particular favorite, a lacy white silk short gown with goldish blue parts had been over 150 thousand - but she only wore that to the rare formal hunter get-togethers or other special occasions, never on the battlefield. (7)  
  
Today Fahlina wore her favorite outfit for any job, a black with neon green accents leather number, with high platform boots that came up to her knees. The boots made her stand about four and a half feet tall. Her Newman mother had given her a petite, short body. Her light pink short feathered hair was covered with a stout looking matching hat, and her makeup as usual was slightly clownish. Large fushia starbursts around her violet eyes, with bright red lipstick, which looked shocking on her pale skin. You could tell from a mile away (if you didn't look over her head) that she was a Force.   
  
She stopped outside a old-fashioned Mag supply shop - that was one thing that was slightly short on her supply list; Mag food. She could just feed it her 'mates & 'fluids, but her Mag was slightly spoiled in that it loved Star Atomitizers. These are a sort of healing bomb, which when engaged will explode, showering everything around it in a highly potent healing potion. They are quite expensive, but very good for a Mag. Deciding to quickly pick up a few Atomitizers for the trip, she ducked out of the crowd & into the shop, where she was rather well known. "Hey Kelly, got any Stars on hand?", she called to the teenager behind the small counter. He smiled at her, recognizing the Force immediately. The boy scanned his inventory list, then looked up, "Yep, just got a shipment in of over a thousand in from Ganymead! How many ya want Fah?"   
  
She quickly estimated how long she would be in the ruins, then shot, "I'd say about 6." He grinned, then held up a finger telling her to wait a second. He stepped through a set of swinging galley-like doors, into the back of the shop. He returned with a medium-sized green canister and set in on the counter between them. "So, how'ya been Fah? Any good runs lately?" His crystal blue eyes sparkled. Kelly was a amateur Hunter, but hardly got to go out & do quests because his father wanted him to do "real" work. Fahlina kind of pitied him, but also disliked being around him because it was painfully obvious he had a crush on her.  
  
She shrugged looking at Mag's for sale and different accessories for the little robots, not looking at him while she answered "I've been busy, but it's all been routine stuff...." He replied in an eager voice, "Yeah, I've been wanting to get out, you know, but it's been kinda busy and Pop says I gotta stick around. He's been traveling, looking for a new partner in his Mag raising business." She nodded, pretending to listen, secretly wishing for a way to escape before he asked her out. "Um, I'd like to stay & chat Kelly, but I've actually gotta meet my client in about ten minutes, sooo..."   
  
The boy's face fell a bit, then reddened, "Um, Fahlina, I know you're real busy, but do you think, maybe this weekend - " The girl quickly cut him off, knowing what came next, "So! how much are the Atomitizers these days?", she smiled, "Oh well, here! Later Kelly!" (8) She put down 10 thousand meseta, then hurried out of the shop. What a nightmare, she thought as she rushed to the eatery that was a block away.  
  
The eatery was a tiny place, a hole in the wall so to speak, near the outskirts of the hub. Outside were two tables crammed close to the storefront, each with two chairs. Her client, Raymond Bairdiella (9), was sitting at one looking nervously at his watch and tapping his foot rapidly. He was a thin, almost to the point of looking starved. His hair was a lackluster dirty blonde, and looked heavy with grease. He didn't exactly look untrustworthy, just fallen on bad times. He may even had been attractive once. A cup of coffee sat on a saucer in front of him, but it didn't look as though he'd drank any yet. Fahlina grimaced - this guy looks like an absolute idiot, she thought as she sat down in the chair opposite of him. He looked up at her, startled and looking afraid. "Oh! You're here... I was just about..."  
  
She looked at him, waiting for him to finish, but he didn't. Instead, he picked up the stirring straw from his coffee and began gnawing on it. What the heck is this guy's problem?, she wondered, The monsters don't care about weapons and no one has gone near those Ruins since Dark Falz was killed. "So, I just need half of the payment now, and I'll go retrieve your Twin Brand, okay?", she tried to look him in the eyes while she said this, but he shied away, staring at the floor, the sky, anywhere but at her. He nodded finally, then withdrew a few coins from his shirt pocket. She took them from his trembling hand, and quickly counted them.   
  
"Um, I only need half the payment now. You can keep the rest until I return with your weapon." The Force was beginning to wonder if this guy had had a nervous breakdown before she got here, or maybe hadn't slept in a few weeks - or months. The man shook his head, "Y-you can keep it... k-k-keep it all, okay? Ju... just hurry up and go...", he trembled and stared around him before adding, almost mechanically, "I need that Brand."  
  
Fahlina nodded. "Alright then, I'll be going now. I'll meet you back her within two hours." he nodded shortly, then stood up, knocking his knees into the table and spilling the coffee. "Hey, you're supposed to wait here!", the hunter almost yelled at the man, who seemed stunned by the brown liquid spreading across the table. He glanced up at her, seemingly afraid of her, "Oh... right! I have another....... meeting, so, just call me at my mobile."  
  
She took the piece of paper he offered her, feeling slightly weird about the mission suddenly. "You'd better answer the first time it rings, because otherwise I'll keep that Brand, alright? I'll sell it!", she was dismayed by the tremor in her voice - why was she suddenly feeling frightened? The man nodded, grinning with a corpse's humor, then turned and walked away quickly. Fahlina had a bad taste in her mouth, figuratively. Literally, her stomach cramped up with worry - was this quest what it appeared to be?   
  
Author's Notes...  
  
(1) I just replaced the friendly woman in blue you get quests from in the game with mean, old grouchy men. XD Also slightly changed the quest-getting office and stuff  
  
(2) Mesata is the money of the Phantasy Star universe  
  
(3) Hub just made sense... my reason why sucked. This paragraph was supposed to show how androids and Newmen are looked down on - it didn't work huh? :( Bad author, bad!  
  
(4) This name is from a Patsy Cline song, "Bill Baily, Won't You Please Come Home". ^-^  
  
(5) I've never had a character named Nahlintia. She sounded kewl though, so I made her Fahlina's mom. Nah almost got her own story though, but then I realized she was kewl, but her story was boring. Like these notes. lol  
  
(6) Ex-cons are hunters seemed funny to me. Ex-cons as assholes comes up in the next chapter - yay! lol  
  
(7) I love the Force costumes - they're so cute! I wanna cos-play as a Force someday - probably not as Fah though - she's too damn short. ^o^  
  
(8) Kelly will be around again later... sadly. ;p He reminds me of Takehashi, in the manga "Happy Mania". lol  
  
(9) Fah isn't so good at judging people, correctly anyway. Ray's last name came from the spell checker. lol I got the entire idea for his character from Peter Pettigrew, the "rat" in the Harry Potter series.  
  
Ending Note...  
  
Well, there it is - the first chapter of my second upload. I hope you liked it - be sure to tell me in your review if I should hurry up and continue, or just slack off like I am with my other story! lol 


	2. Foul Play?

Author's Note...  
  
Hey, it's fahsky again, bringing you another chapter of my second story. In this chapter something wicked (& underhanded) this way comes... Fahlina enters the Ruins of Dark Falz to retrieve the shifty Raymond Bairdiella's weapon, but finds things strangely amiss. Also, we get introduced to another bad-ass: Airax the Ranger. How does he tie in with a tiny Force with an attitude? And just how much longer will this macho guy be able to tote a cannon on his shoulder? Will he look good in a Force's mini-skirt? Wha-wha-huh?!, I hear you saying! - The Agarbatti Experiment kicks off now! Enjoy! ^_~Y I'm sure you'll be compelled to review this chapter...  
  
Also, you will be treated to lots and lots of explaining - who defeated Dark Falz, some info about the Ruins, etcetera!   
  
Disclaimer...  
  
Sega & other companies own Phantasy Star, & all related items. My characters belong to me. Story concept belongs to me. Please do not post this elsewhere without my permission. I am making no money from this.  
  
Chapter 2: Foul Play?  
  
Fahlina stood waiting impatiently at the teleport hub. Because of the hub's huge size, hunters and other travelers could be held up for over an hour waiting for a telepipe. This pissed off Fahlina immensely, because as a advanced Force, she had the power to call up a gate from the very fabric of time and space (1) perfectly well on her own - yet she had to wait for some geeky teenager entire levels below her to be free to make one from a machine -for- her. Her left eyebrow ticked slightly in agitation, feeling her irritation rise towards the level of unrepresable anger.   
  
A young looking boy polka-dotted equally with freckles and pimples jogged right past her, a canister containing several dozen coin sized pipes bouncing on his hip. "Be right with you Sir," he yelled to a rather pissed looking Ranger, who simply signed that it better be soon with a sharp nod. (2)   
  
The girl grinned mischievously, ignoring the Ranger (Ranger's struck her as slightly dumb), aimed her finger carefully and murmured to herself, feeling a power well up in her chest - "Zonde!" A tiny bolt of lightning shot from the tip and hit the buckle attactching the teleport canister to the boy's waist, causing it to crash to the ground and shatter. Chaos erupted as nearly a hundred teleports going to who knows where, as they hadn't been coded burst into bright colors of blue green yellow and red flame-like circles. Fahlina's cry, "RYUKER RUINS, TRANSPORT NOW!" was lost amidst the mass of people simultantiously scrambling to get away and to the large group of gates. Several people succeeded in getting to a teleport, and vanished along with the lights, off to anywhere on Ragol. Fahlina's gate appeared, shining red. She stepped in, smirking at her beautiful trickery and dematerialized instantly thereafter. (3)  
  
Opening her eyes, she found herself in a small underground room. A group of steel containers were at her right, and a large stone door with three glowing colored symbols on it had a barricade before it that read "DANGER - No admittance to civilians" was about 25 feet ahead of her. She was in the room where the secret evacuations team from Pioneer 1 had discovered the "Ruins". (4)   
  
The Force shuddered at the thought of what may have become of Pioneer 2 if they had been told about the dig - would they have landed sooner to join in the dig, leaving every survivor of Earth to be murdered by the malevolent God of Destruction?  
  
  
  
Fahlina remembered when the Ruins had been discovered a few monthes after Pioneer 2 set up an orbit around Ragol, after the explosion - Dozens of scientists went in eagerly, accompanied by a handful of hunters to "search for survivors" from the ill-fated first colonization project. It was almost a joke when it was announced a week later they all disappeared, and the search for bodies was proving fruitless. All hunters were forbidden to enter for the following month, and the only humans allowed clearance were high-ranking Army personnel - Newmen Rangers and androids were sent in droves, squadrons of Forces also for their valuable combat support and healing skills. After only three days of searching the third, and lowest, level a machine was found which was believed to be responsible for creating many of the strange spirit-like monsters. After it's destruction and subsequent removal to Pioneer 2 for study and research, the monster population was cut almost in half - a team of well-experienced hunters could go into the ancient space ship and complete simple missions, provided that they didn't stray all the way to the third level. (5)  
  
Nearly three months after the landing of Pioneer 2, and fourteen years after the launch of Pioneer 1, the cause of the millions of slaughtered innocent lives was discovered. Festering in it's gigantic casket for probably thousands of years, which was believed by all scientists to be an ancient city, the deity Dark Falz feasted on the souls and flesh of countless generations, whole families whipped out of existence - all while countless more came to meet the same fate. When a team of Forces had finally unlocked the final chamber to discover the god, none had been prepared for what came. The battle was said to have lasted over seven hours, and only one hunter lived to tell the tale.   
  
Kruena came back to Pioneer, not a hero, but a madman. The battle with Falz took his future wife and bearer of his unborn child, and also his brother. He raved in the hospital for two weeks, screaming that he had seen their souls be sucked into Falz's "being", as he called it, and that everyone aboard Pioneer 1 fought alongside him and his friends, among many other wild delusions. He also claimed to see Rico Tyrell's, the Principle's daughter, spirit fly away from the corpse once the god was defeated. The doctors were disappointed at the most when he finally ended his own life with the intervaneous needle that had been injecting nourishment to his dehydrated skeletal-like, wasted body. The only sympathetic one, a young Newman nurse later commented to an author writing an expose many years later, that she "would have helped out the poor man" to commit suicide if she had only known. The Principle himself worked for an entire night to create a lie, a speech telling the world that Kruena the FOhumar had actually died from sustained wounds, and was truly a strong hero who had saved Pioneer 2 and Ragol. (6)   
  
The cavern was nick-named the Front Porch by hunters, following a slightly sick trend of naming areas of the Ruins after rooms in a old-Earth home. Fahlina had heard stories of a Kitchen, which was a room on the first level, named after a large floor panel that had instantly turned two unlucky hunters to ashes. The puny pile still lay there, as they couldn't be swept away by humans or by wind - there was only stale recycled air down there. Another room, where the evidence of the "explosion" was to be found, was called "The Furnace", as the humongous hole found in the North-East corner of the large hall burned white-hot for weeks after. The pit was extremely deep - about 350 feet from where Falz literally shot up to the surface, and was about 50 feet wide. The God of Destruction had burrowed up from his lair through bedrock, and hit an underground river, causing a small cascade in the room. Also, since the god had ripped a hole through nearly a quarter of the room, the electric was completely screwed, & the only lights were the blood red back-up lights set up by the research team which had disappeared - which further lended to the nickname. (7)  
  
The most famous room, however, was a small chamber with a message from Rico warning about the god ahead. It was the only intact message however, but only because strangely no monsters were ever in that tiny room. Many others had been discovered and recovered all over the planet, but all were severely damaged by monsters. It was named "Falz's Parlor", and the huge room beyond was "Falz's Arena". That nickname didn't quite fit in with the others, but rang true - every monster type encountered in the rest of the Ruins showed up in droves here, due to the close proximity to the God. After that, if one went through a door, and then into the large, red teleport, you could find an unnamed area. No one talked about it anymore, but when it was still spoken of, it was simply referred to as "there". Everyone knew what it meant. This place was damned, cursed - and no one stepped foot on it, except to remove the battered bodies of the other two hunters who hadn't survived. After that, not even the extremely curious scientists would go near it. The large circular battlefield was covered in lava-like blackish rock, surrounded by huge jagged boulders. One of the androids sent down to retrieve the bodies said that some of the patterns of the lava formed eerie face-like patterns. His emotion chip had made him shudder and shake his head before saying, "I'll never return to that place." (8)  
  
Now, there were massive debates going on about just what should be done with the ship containing the remains of Dark Falz, and all the spirit incarnations of him. Fahlina hoped that it would just be blown up, who cared about the world it was imbedded in. She wished that Pioneer 2 would just take off, search for another planet. Ragol was full of death, even where beauty sought to hide it - it was all poisoned, and no one could ever live there in peace again. (9)  
  
The Force shook her head, vanquishing these troubling thoughts to the back of her mind - she would need all her concentration on her spellwork if she wanted to live to give that creep back his Brands. She stepped towards the barrier, smacking it out of her way with her Club. "FOIE!", she blasted off a small fireball and the broken bits of wood erupted, almost instantly turning into ash. Maybe I used a bit much force on that, she grinned. Truthfully, she felt angry - that barrier represented the idiocy of the government, to send so many hopeful innocent people to their deaths. 'Danger' indeed, her eyes narrowed to slits as she glared at the large doors ahead. There was no warning for the millions of dead - they meet their deaths suddenly, with no chance to save themselve or even say goodbye to loved ones. No barrier protected them.   
  
She fingered the folded piece of paper with the mobile number of Raymond's on it. She had half a mind to simply call him up and tell him to find himself another hunter for the job...   
  
"Let's do this." Her eyes flew open, blazing violent fushia light over her made-up face, overpowering the feeble emergency lights. Her purple-starburts around her eyes nearly danced, like flames. The doors slid open on their own accord, and the young hunter stepped into the perfect black beyond. (10)  
  
Meanwhile, back in the teleport hub, the mess the Force girl had left had finally been resolved. No one had seen the culprit, but police were patrolling the area questioning idviduals. The remaining 70 or so pipes had been roped off, and the teleport hub manager had called the local Hunters' Guild to send out some Forces to clear them out - none of the workers were skilled enough to do it. About ten minutes after the sudden chaos, everything was pretty much back to normal.  
  
However, one Ranger was still pissed, and still waiting for a teleport to -anywhere- on Ragol - he simply needed to go down for his daily training regime of six straight hours of pure hacking and shooting anything that moved. Airax was at nearly S-Rank, yet not in the least big-headed about it nor did he ever parade around his status. He worked hard for his money and for himself - the fact that there was something horribly wrong on Ragol never conflicted with him. It was a problem to be solved, and that was that. Although Airax could come off feeling cold on that battlefield, it really wasn't the case. A fun-loving guy, you could always find him admost other hunters on Pioneer 2, laughing and fooling around. And, if you did battle alongside him, he may never say a word in conversation - but if you get cornered, you'll find him right by your side fighting for your life as well as his own. Airax was a truelly great symbol of all a Ranger, or any Hunter, should be. (11)  
  
Airax only owned 3 battle suits, and they were all exactly alike. He was a simple guy, and his armor reflected that well - his actual latex-silicone suit was black, with a few white accents. His armor and other protective gear was all white, while his combat battle boots were black with white stiching and laces.When on the battlefield, he wore a ninja-like mask over the bottom half of his face, to keep blood and dirt, and whatever else out of his nose and mouth. Plus, it looked cool to him, and felt very intimidating to enemies or rivals. Airax kept his hair trimed to his shoulders, and constantly had it dyed a dark, almost black, blue. Any woman looking through his messy bangs into his eyes for the first time would probably be stunned - they were a bright green, open and very attractive. He had the figure of a Ranger - not really that muscular, as he used his Cannon more often than any blade, but still trim and slightly muscular from running many miles a day. (12)  
  
But currently, he was pissed. He had waited for nearly 30 minutes, which was 25 too many in his book. It was starting interfere with his strict schedule. Finally, he decided, What the hell, why not just take one of those telepipes that Force left? Unlike all the other confused and irritated people at the hub, the Ranger was always aware of his surroundings, entirelly. Airax had seen the girl glare at him, then zap the kid's belt. And he knew that those gates went to Ragol - so why not take one when no one was paying much attention? He had plenty of other telepipes in a canister of his own, all programmed to automatically take him back to another section of the hub for incoming ports. Carefully adjusting his small waist pack and the Brand on his belt clip, feeling his Cannon shift a little on his back, he stepped backwards towards the rope, pretending to look at the flashing advertisments all around him. Suddenly, something hard collided with his side, making him skid slightly to his left. "Hey!", he turned and looked down, his emerald eyes sparking slightly, a frown on his face.  
  
A thin, almost starved looking man was panting, hands on his knees.Through a breaths he gasped out, "Are - you- a hunter?" The man looked up at him, and Airax couldn't help but cringe. The guy was wearing a suit of a business man, but looked as though it was the only clothing he'd worn in the last month. On closer examination, he realized he couldn't even be that old - no older than 25. The most disturbing thing was that the Ranger could almost see what the man had once been - a little like himself. The hunter nodded, feeling bad about being snappy and then actually shuddering at the sight of a fellow human being. "Yes, I am. Do you need help - I mean, I can help you, don't worry", he smiled and added, "What's your name?" (13)  
  
The man nodded feverously. "I need someone to go into the Ruins - Oh, I-I'm Ray", he cast a sick looking grin, which quickly dissolved. "I can give you 10 thousand meseta. I just want you to go into the R-ruins and get back my Twin Brands. I sent another hunter in, a Force, but she never returned with it. She... she may be in trouble." Ray looked down at the floor between them, looking strangely guilty. Airax mistook this for worry, and feeling guilty about sending down the girl. He laid a hand on the man's shoulder, and the scragly man jumped slightly. "I'll go find her, and your weapon. Keep your money man... everyone falls on hard times. Besides, you've already paid for one hunter." (14)  
  
Ray nodded. "Okay... but could you go now? I'm... I'm a little worried." He didn't say whether he was worried about the girl or the weapon, but Airax, being good-natured, assumed he meant the Force. "I'll go as soon as I can get a teleport d - " Ray grabbed his arm and started walking across the hub. "I have one, right here. It'll take you right to the room where I dropped it. I would go... but I'm afraid. The girl... she started at the begining of the first level, so she might not have gotten there. You should try to find her quickly..." He stopped speaking when they reached a bright yellow gate. He turned his head towards the Ranger and whispered, "Good luck... be careful." He handed him a small, folded paper square. "This is my mobile phone number - please call me as soon as you find that Brand." Ray's eyes looked sad, and Airax felt something stir inside him - was it doubt? Fear? He shook his head slightly, "I'm always careful...", then for the first and last time, he bragged about his rank, "I'm elite." (15)  
  
Ray smiled shakily, then gave a slight wave. The Ranger stepped into the teleport, then yelled out strongly "RYUKER, TELEPORT NOW!"   
  
He was gone.  
  
Author's Notes... (I'm obsessed w/ commentary!! XD)   
  
(1) Gate Keepers 21 references anyone? ;) Also, I decided that in real Pioneer city, there would be a teleport station, just like a subway or airport. Makes sense right, not to just have people popping in & out whenever they feel like it. lol I also imagine the kind of kids you see working at Burger King to work at these hubs - always screwing up, too damn slow, etc. ...  
  
(2) Hello Airax! ^-^" Well, pretty much... it coulda been any pissed off Ranger, but it turns out to be Airax, our other main character.   
  
(3) Bwahahaha!! Fah and I both love chaos! Also, in the game, I picture you just dropping a little pill-sized capsule on the ground & it exploding into a gate.  
  
(4) The room you pipe to after defeating Vol Opt in the game. The thought she has immediatly after, about what would have happened if Pioneer 2 had been told about a "lost civilization" made me think in the game. I don't believe, like Fahlina worries, that P2 would have landed though - it would have been impossible to get there any sooner.  
  
(5) Mmmm, more fabricated PSO backstory... Well, the monster-creating-machine is kinda real - remember that pain-in-the ass quest "From the Depths"? Gah, I hated that one... lol Not as bad as the one where you take Elenor down into the Ruins though; I still can't pass that one on Ultimate. :( Am I rambling?   
  
(6) Well, -that- turned out gruesome. The whole festering and feeding on souls thing turned out kewl. I am also equally pleased w/ my "hero", Kruena. He may well have a short, first-person POV story on the way, maybe. I like the idea. ^-^ Gory fahsky. lol   
  
(7) Gory, gory, gory! The whole hunters' ashes in the "Kitchen" was just... morbid, yeah. ^-^Y I just kinda reworked the "Furnace" from the actual room in the game, the really big one w/ the giant hole on the other side by the hidden room behind the waterfalls. That room always struck me as weirdly out of place - everywhere you look is metal - then this wooden room. o.O"  
  
(8) In my head, I've always used these two names - I'm a freak for naming stuff. Falz's Parlor was going to be the Front Porch, but then I decided "parlor" invoked more fear than "porch", like in that old poem "The Spider & the Fly". Or was that a story...? Whatever. The place where you fight Falz is the "there" place. The souls were all freed, so it's just lava looking stuff now, w/ a few odd faces. Notice the corpse of Falz is gone? Eh, eh?  
  
(9) More about this in my other story, The Life One Lives, about my other character Akemi Chi. If you like this, you may get a kick out of that as well. ^-^   
  
(10) Mmmm, bad-ass little Force girl, kick ass!  
  
(11) Meet Airax! I have to say, I borrowed the name from the anime Trigun - ah well. Hope you like this guy - I luff him! He's a lot more like me than Fahlina, I guess. He can come off as moody, but also laugh & joke w/ friends the next. Airax however, is not the great hunter he is in this fic - he's only level 5. ^.^'  
  
(12) Can I EVER find a reason to describe my characters?! Gah, I'm an awful writer!!  
  
(13) Once again, I'm infusing this fan-fic w/ the underlying theme of humanity in situations that don't really inspire it - times when other people are absolute slimes to one another, yet you can still find it in your heart to do right. Both the main characters share that.  
  
(14) Grrrr... Slimy Raymond. Grrrrrr...  
  
(15) I liked that last line there - very kewl. "For the first and last time" - makes it gritty, more real. Also, notice Ray's some kinda compassion? Hmmm...  
  
Ending Note...  
  
Eeek, sorry about all the little notes! It's my obsession w/ explanation, & commentary. I swear, I won't watch a DVD if it doesn't have commentary now. lol Hope you guys don't mind - just ignore it all! ^-^Y Next chapter - DEATH! Fighting scenes - which I suck at! XDDD Stay tuned... 


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